In vitro diagnostics (IVD) allows labs to assist in the diagnosis of disease based on assays performed on patient fluid samples. IVD includes various types of analytical tests and assays related to patient diagnosis and therapy that can be performed by analysis of a liquid sample taken from a patient's bodily fluids, or abscesses. These assays are typically conducted with automated clinical chemistry analyzers (analyzers) onto which fluid containers, such as tubes or vials containing patient samples have been loaded. The analyzer extracts a liquid sample from the vial and combines the sample with various reagents in special reaction cuvettes or tubes (referred to generally as reaction vessels). In some conventional systems, a modular approach is used for analyzers. A lab automation system can shuttle samples between one sample processing module (module) and another module. Modules may include one or more stations, including sample handling stations and testing stations (e.g., a unit that can specialize in certain types of assays or can otherwise provide testing services to the larger analyzer), which may include immunoassay (IA) and clinical chemistry (CC) stations. Some traditional IVD automation track systems comprise systems that are designed to transport samples from one fully independent module to another standalone module. This allows different types of tests to be specialized in two different stations or allows two redundant stations to be linked to increase the volume of sample throughput available.
In some conventional IVD automation systems, single objects, typically individual carrier mechanisms (carriers), sometimes called pucks, or racks carrying payloads are shuttled between different stations. These conventional systems include track guidance mechanisms (e.g. track widths, singulating gates, interface gates, and diverting gates) and propulsion mechanisms designed around the particular shapes and sizes (geometries) of the puck or payload carried by the puck to reduce the size, complexity and cost of the systems. Accordingly, these conventional systems are not designed to carry payload types having different geometries (e.g. sample tubes and reagent wedges) along a single lane of a track without incurring navigational problems, such as collisions, blocked lanes and difficulty maneuvering turns.